Sanaa, Jan 18 (EFE).- The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said on Thursday that the decision by the United States to designate the militia as a “terrorist group” is “funny,” while ordinary Yemenis, who have suffered through a long civil war, are worried that the designation could mean a decrease in the humanitarian aid that many depend on.
“The American classification of terrorism is funny. Who is the American? The American who supports Zionist crimes by killing children and women in Gaza every day and every night. The American with a dark criminal record, morally bankrupt?” the leader of the Iranian-backed Shiite movement said in an hour-long televised speech.
“There is nothing that can worry us or affect our stance. We will maintain our support as Yemeni people, our solidarity and defense, of the Palestinian people and exert pressure by all means, including continuing our stance of attacking ships affiliated with Israel,” he said.
Washington announced the designation of the Houthis, formally known as Ansarallah, as a terrorist group on Wednesday, days after launching a bombing campaign with the help of the United Kingdom against Houthi military targets in Yemen to try to stop their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The US State Department designation will take effect on Feb. 16, with the possibility of suspending the decision if the Houthis stop their attacks, which the Houthi leader has said will not happen until “the aggression on Gaza” is over.
In a press statement, Antony Blinken said that while the Houthis “must be held accountable for their actions,” any action taken against them “should not be at the expense of Yemeni civilians,” and that the State Department is “taking significant steps to mitigate any adverse impact this designation may have on the people of Yemen.”
“We will be the ones who suffer the most”
The State Department has also decided to designate the Houthis as a “Specifically Designated Global Terrorist” rather than a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” which would carry much harsher sanctions.
But ordinary people in Yemen, a country suffering from one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies on the planet, face uncertainty about the consequences of this designation on the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Residents of the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, reacted to the news with caution.
In one popular neighborhood of the city, Latifa Abbas, a 43-year-old divorced mother of five dependent children, told EFE on Thursday that Yemenis have already been “pummeled” and expressed concern about the impact of the new designation on humanitarian aid, as she relies on organizations to guarantee her family’s basic needs.
“If this designation means that aid will not arrive, we will be the ones who suffer the most,” she said.
“We already skip one or two meals a day, the difficulty of putting food on our plates will be even greater,” she lamented.
For Yahya Fatira, a butcher by trade, the designation “will only make things worse for us. We depend on livestock imports and now the difficulties will increase,” he told EFE.
But for other residents of this ancient city, like Ahmad al Seraji, a 30-year-old auto parts dealer, this decision will have no effect, as he believes Yemenis have “learned” to adapt and “survive in these circumstances,” he told EFE.
After eight years of conflict, the crisis in Yemen remains severe, with more than 21 million people – two-thirds of the population – in need of humanitarian aid.
The war between the Houthis and the government – which later became a global conflict due to Saudi Arabia’s intervention in support of the government – has led to an economic collapse.
Attacks will continue
Al-Houthi, the leader, was also keen to point out in his speech on Thursday that the US attacks against his group in Yemen have not affected their military capabilities.
“The U.S.-British aggression, as long as it continues, will increasingly contribute to enhancing our military capabilities,” he said.
A joint US and UK statement, supported by eight other countries, recently noted that the decision to attack Houthi positions in Yemen was also motivated by the defense of international trade and those who transit the waters of the Red Sea, through which nearly 15% of the world’s maritime trade passes. EFE
ja-sr-hp-ijm/ics
